On March 13, we released the following updates to the site:

• Ability to navigate back to the list of geographies when using the search by address functionality. With this update, the address you searched is now reflected in the URL. This allows you to copy the URL from your address bar to share the results, as well as use your browser’s back button to navigate to the list of geographies again.

• Enhancements to the Microdata Access Tool (MDAT), including:

o   New “Geographies” tab. We moved the previous “Select Geographies” button within the variables tab to a dedicated “Geographies” tab. This makes it more intuitive for you to know where to make geography selections.

Please note: You will only see the “Geographies” tab if the dataset you are using provides data for more than one geography. For example, when using the 2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) dataset in MDAT, you will not see a “Geographies” tab because the dataset only provides data at the national level.

o   Ability to select filters in bulk by using the shift key. To select a range of filters in bulk, (1) Click the first item; (2) Hold the shift key and click the last item. This will select the entire range of filters between the first and last clicks. 

o   View data for averages at the national level. For example, average person income in the United States.

o   Improved alignment of geography lists. Items now appear in a structured order, with text aligned neatly, regardless if the item contains a check box.

• Technical updates to help:
  • Improve the process of signing up for API keys
  • Track the share of MDAT downloads by format type (i.e. csv, json)
    
    
• Fixes to 13 defects, including fixes that allow you to:
  • View full geography titles in the Profiles
  • Successfully access downloads in GeoJSON format
  • View content on mobile devices with several fixes applied to remove overlapping text

On Feb 20, we released the following updates to the site:

• Microdata Access Tool enhancements, including
  • Geographic aggregation: Use the new geography Group tab to get data for a customized selection of individual geographies already added together for you.

* This feature is supported in the table display when the cell value option is set to count. The site does not support calculations of averages for customized geography groups.

• New option to search within the list of public use microdata areas (PUMAs), allowing you to select geographies more efficiently without having to scroll through long lists.

* This search option is supported specifically for lists of PUMA geographies. 

• Update to ensure MDAT variables in the columns and rows section of the table layout remain on screen. This streamlines your ability to view, edit, and customize the placement of the variables by elimating the need to navigate horizontal scroll bars that were previously in these sections. 

• New visual indicator to assist you in customizing table layout. During the process to edit the layout of the variables in the table display, you will now see three vertical dots that indicate the precise placement where the variable will appear once you release the click.

•  Improved visual effects applied to menu items in the table display. Menu items that you have chosen are shown with orange highlight bars and blue shading extended across the entire selection. This provides better clarity of your menu selections and improved consistency with other parts of the site.

• Streamlined process to use the PUMA variable. When you select PUMA as a variable in MDAT, the site will also automatically select the state variable (ST or STATE), so you can use the variable in the table and see the PUMA codes.

• Streamlined All results page. You will now see previous labels consolidated into a single “Data” header, with new buttons to access table, map, or charts. This reduces the number of clicks and scrolling required to navigate to the full set of table and visualization options.

• Technical work in MDAT to ensure the URL completely updates after deleting all variables.
• Technical work to enable limits to API parameters. This will help promote overall API performance in support of upcoming data releases.
•  Updates to ensure no error messages when using PUMA variable in ACS 1-year. 
• Fixes to 10 defects, including fixes that allow you to:
  • Successfully open previously saved links to MDAT tables that had recoded variables. 
  • View data for custom MDAT tables without intermittently experiencing an issue causing null values to display. 
  •  Retrieve results for the relevant type(s) of school district (e.g. unified, elementary/secondary) when using the search by address functionality.

On January 16, we released the following updates to the site:

• Microdata Access Tool (MDAT) enhancements, including:

o   New button in the cart tab that allows you to delete all variables.

o   Improved placement of continuous variable messaging. After selecting a continuous variable, a message appears at the top of the screen informing you that you have selected a variable that may need to be recoded in the Cart.

o   Improved public use microdata area (PUMA) labels in the table display. The 5-digit PUMA codes are now automiatically shown in the table display when using geography variables such as PUMA10, PUMA20, MIGPUMA, or POWPUMA.

• Renamed ‘Filters’ button in the chart toolbar. The previous ‘Attributes’ button is renamed to ‘Filters’ for increased clarity. The functionality provided through the button remains the same.

• Updated color in the maps for geographies with no data. When you map a variable for a geography that does not have data, the geography is now shown in a dark gray color. This update helps make it easier to distinguish geographies with no data from geographies that have not been selected.

• Enhancements to make links to the file transfer protocol (FTP) site clickable in the notes sections of more tables on data.census.gov, such as Economic Census tables.

• Updates to power the Population Pyramids Application with the most recent 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.

• Fixes to 8 defects, including fixes that allow you to:
  • Maintain the selected year when loading map URLs
  • Export tables to Excel after having transposed the table
  • Get URLs for charts that are customized to the measure you selected